Top 10 TV Shows Which Completely Changed Their Premise

Set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” follows the eponymous members of the organization devoted to combating and investigating extraordinary threats. However, events in the rest of the MCU have dramatic impacts on the show, particularly the revelation that Hydra has infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D., leading to major shakeups to the format and characters. Later on, the show features multiple arcs per season, some of which see them trapped in a virtual reality and even sent into outer space. “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” never stays the same for long and is always evolving into something new and exciting.

#9: “The Affair” (2014-)

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The title says it all . . . or at least so you’d think, based on the first season. “The Affair” explores, well, an affair between Noah Solloway and Alison Lockhart. Subsequent seasons add new point of view characters, but the most drastic change occurs in season 5. Flashforward set decades later show Alison’s daughter Joanie trying to find out what happened to her mother, who was killed off in season 4. It’s a far cry from the focus and format of season 1, but it’s a swerve that’s been embraced and applauded by both critics and audiences.

#8: “Baywatch Nights” (1995-97)

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Bet you didn’t see this pick coming! A spin-off of the lifeguard centered “Baywatch,” following Mitch Buchannon, Michael Hasselhoff’s character, after he forms a detective agency, “Baywatch Nights” already has a pretty odd setup. However, its second season takes a hard left turn into the bizarre, when the cases Buchannon investigates become almost entirely supernatural or paranormal in nature - a move obviously intended to capitalize on the popularity of its contemporary, “The X-Files.” The change in tone wasn’t enough to save this already struggling show in the ratings department though, and it was canceled after only two seasons.

Initially following spy Sydney Bristow as she discovers the covert agency she works for is not actually affiliated with the CIA, and her subsequent attempts to spy on it for the actual CIA, “Alias” only gets wilder from there, featuring plots involving amnesia, brainwashing, and ancient prophecies. Any show about spies is going to have a few twists and turns, but few of them have quite as many dramatic shake ups as “Alias” does, with nearly every season featuring a paradigm shift that sees the characters in a completely new set of circumstances, with different goals, and new alliances.

Depicting the adventures of a damaged scientist, his son, and an FBI agent, “Fringe” begins as a sort of paranormal procedural investigation show, but develops into something much more. While it retains its roots throughout most of its run, the show’s ongoing plotline heavily features a conflict with a parallel universe. Later on, the show goes through a soft reboot when one character is erased from existence, shifting everyone else’s lives around. The final season makes an even bigger change by sending the heroes decades into the future, where they fight to free the world from mysterious invaders. “Fringe” is a wild trip, but one worth taking.

#5: “Family Matters” (1989-98)

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This sitcom started out as a spin-off of “Perfect Strangers” focusing on the Winslow family and their struggles; hence the title. However, all that changed halfway through the first season with the introduction of their young neighbor, Steve Urkel. Quirky, awkward, and thoroughly weird, Urkel quickly came to overshadow the Winslows in popularity with the show’s audience; leading to a greater emphasis on him throughout the rest of the show’s run and many irritating, timeless catchphrases. A character’s popularity can make or break a show, so giving the audience what they wanted led to “Family Matters” lasting 9 years, even if it wasn’t in the spirit of its beginnings.

#4: “Prison Break” (2005-09, 2017-)

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Breaking out is only the beginning. Originally centered around Michael Scofield, who comes up with a brilliant plan to engineer the escape of his wrongfully imprisoned brother, Lincoln, from inside the prison itself, the show shifts focus with each season, as the titular prison break occurred at the end of the first. Further seasons deal with unraveling the conspiracy that put Lincoln away, running from their pursuers, and escaping from several other prisons too. Few of our other entries manage to stray from their original premise and then come full circle, multiple times, quite so neatly.

#3: “Happy Days” (1974-84)

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Built as a throwback sitcom set in the 1950s, “Happy Days” predominantly featured Richie Cunningham in a lead role, along with his family and friends. However, as was the case with “Family Matters,” one character proved so popular that he came to eclipse the protagonist – Arthur “The Fonz” Fonzarelli. Fonzie’s coolness and charisma naturally attracted more fans, leading to a shift in focus to make him the hero, particularly after Richie’s actor Ron Howard departed the show. Even the ‘50s setting didn’t last the whole way through, as events skipped forward into the ‘60s in later years.

Talk about keeping it fresh. “Archer” began as a globetrotting spy office comedy set in a vague time period reminiscent of the Cold War Bond movies. However, in season 5, “Archer Vice”, the protagonists leave spying behind to form a drug cartel. Season 7 sees them running a private detective agency in L.A. . . . and from there it just gets weirder. Seasons 8 to 10 took place in Archer’s mind as he lay in a coma - moving from a noir world known as Dreamland, to a Pacific island, and then into space!

#1: “The Good Place” (2016-)

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Our last entry may be relatively new, but it has already changed its premise quite dramatically. “The Good Place” is first presented as being about residents of heaven, including one woman who definitely feels out of place. However, by the end of the first season, it’s revealed that the “good place” is in fact an experimental part of the “bad place.” The second season refocuses the plot on the human residents trying to escape, while the third sees them return to Earth, and move on to a new experimental afterlife. Quite the forking turnaround, huh?